1 Samuel 18

Now it came about when he had finished speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as himself.Saul took him that day and did not let him return to his father’s house.Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, including his sword and his bow and his belt.So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and prospered; and Saul set him over the men of war. And it was pleasing in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

It happened as they were coming, when David returned from killing the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy and with musical instruments.The women sang as they played, and said,

"Saul has slain his thousands,And David his ten thousands."

Then Saul became very angry, for this saying displeased him; and he said, "They have ascribed to David ten thousands, but to me they have ascribed thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?"Saul looked at David with suspicion from that day on.

Now it came about on the next day that an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he raved in the midst of the house, while David was playing the harp with his hand, as usual; and a spear was in Saul’s hand.Saul hurled the spear for he thought, "I will pin David to the wall." But David escaped from his presence twice.

Now Saul was afraid of David, for the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul.Therefore Saul removed him from his presence and appointed him as his commander of a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people.David was prospering in all his ways for the Lordwas with him.When Saul saw that he was prospering greatly, he dreaded him.But all Israel and Judah loved David, and he went out and came in before them.

Then Saul said to David, "Here is my older daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife, only be a valiant man for me and fight the Lord’s battles." For Saul thought, "My hand shall not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him."But David said to Saul, "Who am I, and what is my life or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be the king’s son-in-law?"So it came about at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given to Adriel the Meholathite for a wife.

Now Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. When they told Saul, the thing was agreeable to him.Saul thought, "I will give her to him that she may become a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him." Therefore Saul said to David, "For a second time you may be my son-in-law today."Then Saul commanded his servants, "Speak to David secretly, saying, ‘Behold, the king delights in you, and all his servants love you; now therefore, become the king’s son-in-law.’"So Saul’s servants spoke these words to David. But David said, "Is it trivial in your sight to become the king’s son-in-law, since I am a poor man and lightly esteemed?"The servants of Saul reported to him according to these words which David spoke.Saul then said, "Thus you shall say to David, ‘The king does not desire any dowry except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to take vengeance on the king’s enemies.’" Now Saul planned to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.When his servants told David these words, it pleased David to become the king’s son-in-law. Before the days had expiredDavid rose up and went, he and his men, and struck down two hundred men among the Philistines. Then David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full number to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. So Saul gave him Michal his daughter for a wife.When Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him,then Saul was even more afraid of David. Thus Saul was David’s enemy continually.

Then the commanders of the Philistines went out to battle, and it happened as often as they went out, that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul. So his name was highly esteemed.

1 Samuel 19

Now Saul told Jonathan his son and all his servants to put David to death. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, greatly delighted in David.So Jonathan told David saying, "Saul my father is seeking to put you to death. Now therefore, please be on guard in the morning, and stay in a secret place and hide yourself.I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak with my father about you; if I find out anything, then I will tell you."Then Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, "Do not let the king sin against his servant David, since he has not sinned against you, and since his deeds have been very beneficial to you.For he took his life in his hand and struck the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great deliverance for all Israel; you saw it and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death without a cause?"Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan, and Saul vowed, "As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death."Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all these words. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as formerly.

When there was war again, David went out and fought with the Philistines and defeated them with great slaughter, so that they fled before him.Now there was an evil spirit from the Lord on Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, and David was playing the harp with his hand.Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, so that he stuck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.

Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, in order to put him to death in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, "If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be put to death."So Michal let David down through a window, and he went out and fled and escaped.Michal took the household idol and laid it on the bed, and put a quilt of goats’ hair at its head, and covered it with clothes.When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, "He is sick."Then Saul sent messengers to see David, saying, "Bring him up to me on his bed, that I may put him to death."When the messengers entered, behold, the household idol was on the bed with the quilt of goats’ hair at its head.So Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me like this and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?" And Michal said to Saul, "He said to me, ‘Let me go! Why should I put you to death?’"

Now David fled and escaped and came to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth.It was told Saul, saying, "Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah."Then Saul sent messengers to take David, but when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing and presiding over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul; and they also prophesied.When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. So Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied.Then he himself went to Ramah and came as far as the large well that is in Secu; and he asked and said, "Where are Samuel and David?" And someone said, "Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah."He proceeded there to Naioth in Ramah; and the Spirit of God came upon him also, so that he went along prophesying continually until he came to Naioth in Ramah.He also stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"

1 Chronicles 3

Now these were the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: the firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second was Daniel, by Abigail the Carmelitess;the third was Absalom the son of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; the fourth was Adonijah the son of Haggith;the fifth was Shephatiah, by Abital; the sixth was Ithream, by his wife Eglah.Six were born to him in Hebron, and there he reigned seven years and six months. And in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years.These were born to him in Jerusalem: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan and Solomon, four, by Bath-shua the daughter of Ammiel;and Ibhar, Elishama, Eliphelet,Nogah, Nepheg and Japhia,Elishama, Eliada and Eliphelet, nine.All these were the sons of David, besides the sons of the concubines; and Tamar was their sister.

Now Solomon’s son was Rehoboam, Abijah was his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son,Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son,Amaziah his son, Azariah his son, Jotham his son,Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son,Amon his son, Josiah his son.The sons of Josiah were Johanan the firstborn, and the second was Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum.The sons of Jehoiakim were Jeconiah his son, Zedekiah his son.The sons of Jeconiah, the prisoner, were Shealtiel his son,and Malchiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama and Nedabiah.The sons of Pedaiah were Zerubbabel and Shimei. And the sons of Zerubbabel were Meshullam and Hananiah, and Shelomith was their sister;and Hashubah, Ohel, Berechiah, Hasadiah and Jushab-hesed, five.The sons of Hananiah were Pelatiah and Jeshaiah, the sons of Rephaiah, the sons of Arnan, the sons of Obadiah, the sons of Shecaniah.The descendants of Shecaniah were Shemaiah, and the sons of Shemaiah: Hattush, Igal, Bariah, Neariah and Shaphat, six.The sons of Neariah were Elioenai, Hizkiah and Azrikam, three.The sons of Elioenai were Hodaviah, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub, Johanan, Delaiah and Anani, seven.

Psalm 59

For the choir director; set to Al-tashheth. A Mikhtam of David, when Saul sent men and they watched the house in order to kill him.

Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me.Deliver me from those who do iniquityAnd save me from men of bloodshed.For behold, they have set an ambush for my life;Fierce men launch an attack against me,Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O Lord,For no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me.Arouse Yourself to help me, and see!You, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel,Awake to punish all the nations;Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity. Selah.They return at evening, they howl like a dog,And go around the city.Behold, they belch forth with their mouth;Swords are in their lips,For, they say, "Who hears?"But You, O Lord, laugh at them;You scoff at all the nations.

Because of his strength I will watch for You,For God is my stronghold.My God in His lovingkindness will meet me;God will let me look triumphantly upon my foes.Do not slay them, or my people will forget;Scatter them by Your power, and bring them down,O Lord, our shield.On account of the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips,Let them even be caught in their pride,And on account of curses and lies which they utter.Destroy them in wrath, destroy them that they may be no more;That men may know that God rules in JacobTo the ends of the earth. Selah.They return at evening, they howl like a dog,And go around the city.They wander about for foodAnd growl if they are not satisfied.

But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength;Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning,For You have been my strongholdAnd a refuge in the day of my distress.O my strength, I will sing praises to You;For God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness.

Acts 13

Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus.When they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had John as their helper.When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus,who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him,and said, "You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time." And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand.Then the proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at the teaching of the Lord.

Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; but John left them and returned to Jerusalem.But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.After the reading of the Law and the Prophets the synagogue officials sent to them, saying, "Brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it."Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said,

"Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen:The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it.For a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness.When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance—all of which took about four hundred and fifty years.After these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus,after John had proclaimed before His coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.And while John was completing his course, he kept saying, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’

"Brethren, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent.For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him.And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed.When they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb.But God raised Him from the dead;and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people.And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers,that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘You are My Son; today i have begotten You.’As for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: ‘I will give you the holyandsureblessingsof David.’Therefore He also says in another Psalm, ‘You will notallow YourHoly One toundergo decay.’For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay;but He whom God raised did not undergo decay.Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you:

‘Behold, you scoffers, and marvel, andperish;For I am accomplishing a work in your days,A work which you will never believe, though someone should describe it to you.’"

As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath.Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God.

The next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord.But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming.Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.For so the Lord has commanded us,

‘I have placed You as alight for the Gentiles,That You maybring salvation to the end of the earth.’"

When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region.But the Jews incited the devout women of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district.But they shook off the dust of their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.